Falling into Place
by Nonsense-Nosense
Summary: Harry is sent to the past and discovers betrayal - and friendship- where he least expects it. Better summary inside.
1. Chapter 1

**Summary: ****During the battle at the Ministry, Dumbledore hits Harry with an unknown spell that sends him back to 1941 – Riddle's fifth year at Hogwarts. While Harry adjusts to life under the tyranny of Grindlewald, a woman with ties to Voldemort and Dumbledore tells the story of how she and her friends met and befriended a mysterious young man by the name of Hadrian Verlack. But as the story progresses, Sirius begins to wonder – are Hadrian and Harry the same person? And if they are, what will that mean for when Harry returns?**

**Disclaimer: I do not (unfortunately) own Harry Potter, everything recognizable belongs to J.K. Rowling**

* * *

Spells whizzed over his head as he cowered behind the statue. The tell-tale flashes of light momentarily ceased, and Harry made the mistake of locking gazes with Dumbledore. The last thing he sees before everything goes black is a woman with strawberry blonde hair running towards him, screaming his name. Then the floor beneath him disappeared and he felt the familiar jerk behind his naval.

The Order of the Phoenix, the Ministry, and the DA watched in stunned disbelief as the woman, who had earlier been so intent on saving Harry, now turned on Albus Dumbledore.

"What. Did. You. Do?" she demanded angrily. Voldemort attempted to apparate out while she was distracted, but she turned on him, her wand raised. "Don't. Move." she snarled. The Dark Lord froze and the woman rounded back on the Headmaster.

"Answer me old man!" she hissed, sparks from her wand dangerously close to igniting his ridiculously long beard. Dumbledore twinkled at her.

"Miss Marks, I have no idea what you mean –"

"Don't lie to me! Tom's focus was entirely on you! None of his spells strayed towards Harry! Not to mention your "shield" should have prevented him from hitting Harry! Tell. Me. What. You. Did!"

"I sent him to the past." he answered hurriedly. Snarling once again, she cursed him before turning on Voldemort, who stood stiffly, waiting for her to turn her rage on him. She didn't disappoint. She immediately began firing hexes at him.

"What – the – _bleeding hell_ – were – you – thinking!" she punctuated each word with a spell, eventually hitting him with a stinging hex and gaining a shocking – to everyone else – yelp from the Dark Lord.

"Damn it woman! Why are you so bloody violent?"

"THOMAS MARVOLO RIDDLE!"

He cowered, but before he could speak, Bellatrix decided to interfere on her master's behalf.

"How dare you –"

"Bellatrix Alexandra Black Lestrange! I helped bring you into the world and I will have no problem taking you out. Stand down! Thomas!" she turned back to Voldemort, "Get out of my sight." she hissed, "I don't want to see you until you've pulled your head out of your bloody arse!"

Voldemort grabbed Bellatrix by the arm and disapperated. She turned on the crowd, which had grown significantly, watching her with their mouths open. Crossing her arms, she raised a brow.

"Well? What are you waiting for?" she snapped, "Don't you have jobs to do? And Cornelius," she added, seeing the Minister trying to slink out of the crowd. "a word." He paled, but gestured for her to follow him to his office. The Order watched, stunned, as she followed him. Then they remembered Sirius and hurried to the veil room to get him out of the Ministry. Now.

* * *

Several hours later, the front door of Number 12 Grimauld Place opened and the portrait of Lady Black was opened. Sirius, groaning, pulled himself from his firewhiskey and made his way towards the portrait of his deceased mother. Before he could reach the kitchen doors, however, he heard a familiar voice over the shrieking of the mad woman. A voice he hadn't heard since his godson was born.

"Wally, darling, I love you dearly, but please, do shut up. You sound like a banshee."

At the sound of the teasing drawl, a real smile – the first that wasn't reserved solely for Harry – spread across his face and he ran up the stairs, shouting,

"'Lexi!"

A husky chuckle greeted him as he slammed into the slender body of his father's best friend. Her arms wrapped around him to return the embrace.

"Siri. It's been way too long."

He pulled back to get a good look at her, keeping his hold on her. He grinned roguishly at her.

"It has been. You haven't aged a day!"

She laughed, shoving him gently.

"Sirius! You do brighten an old lady's day. You're a certainly a charmer, Sirius Black, just like your father."

He rolled his eyes, tucking the woman into his side and leading her to the kitchen, she sent an apologetic look to his mother over his shoulder.

"You're not old, 'Lexi."

She smirked.

"Then what would you call sixty-nine years of age, Sirius?"

His grin returned.

"Experienced, of course!"

She laughed at that.

"You really are remarkably like your father, Sirius." she sighed, leaning against the younger man, "At least, what he was like when were at school. Before Hadrian disappeared."

Sirius frowned.

"Who was Hadrian? You're always sad when you mention him."

She laughed softly.

"He'll kill me for that when he gets back." she told him, a strange light in her eyes, "And it's who _is_ he, Sirius, not who _was_ he. He's still alive, I'm sure of it. He just... disappeared one day and never came back. We all fell apart when he left. Tom, your parents, Abraxus, and I took it the hardest. We never could find him, no matter how hard we tried or how far we looked. That's where I've been, you know – looking for him. I didn't, of course, but I will eventually. He'll come back eventually."

"But _who_ is he?" Sirius asked again as they entered the kitchen. Sirius was the only there, so the room was empty. She smiled suddenly, lighting up the dim, dingy room.

"He was our best friend. The glue that held our little group together. The one that kept Tom connected to reality... to his sanity. If you want, I can tell you about him."

Sirius studied her, then gestured to a chair with a nod of his head while he fetched her a drink. She grinned when he handed her an unopened bottle.

"Well, the way we met him wasn't exactly what you would call "normal"..." she began, a fond, amused expression on her face.

* * *

**AN: This is my first "Harry goes back to Voldemort's time" fic, so please review.**


	2. Chapter 2

**AN: This story may be in third person, but 'Lexi is still telling the story, so don't be surprised when Sirius interrupts.**

* * *

Tom and Alexandra were in the Chamber of Secrets in Slytherin's private study, arguing. Again.

"Give no quarter, you can't expect any from them! But don't prove Dumbfuck right! Don't become the monster he's so sure you will be!"

"Years of looking after myself in that thrice damned orphanage has deteriorated my conscience! I won't always have you there to tell me what's right and what's wrong, Alexandra!"

"I know that! But you know what the masses appall and what they approve of! They're sheep! Mindless sheep who let the Ministry and Albus Bloody Dumbledore do their thinking for them! Don't give him reason to suspect anything but the best of you. Continue to endear yourself to the other teachers. But keep out of his way! Tom, you can't – what was that?"

Tom's head shot up.

"What?"

"That crash. Didn't you hear it?"

He shook his head.

"No, I didn't hear anything."

She frowned, drawing her wand.

"I'm going to check it out."

Tom, not bloody likely to allow his best friend out of his sight for long – the possessive bastard – followed her, his own wand seeming to materialize in his hand. Both paused and raised a brow at the sight that greeted them. An exhausted, frightened-looking young man about their age with messy black hair and bright green eyes lay sprawled on the floor. He caught sight of them and was immediately on his feet, wand in hand.

"Who are you? Where am I?"

Alexandra frowned and put her wand away, holding up her empty hands in surrender.

"Calm down. I'm Alexandra Marks and this is Tom Riddle. You're in Salazar Slytherin's study in the Chamber of Secrets. Do you know how you got here? What's your name?"

He shook his head in response to the first question and hesitated for a moment before answering the second.

"Hadrian Verlack. What's the date?"

"2nd September 1941. What's the last thing you remember?"

His eyes darted between the two of them nervously, unsure whether to answer them or not. Finally, he spoke.

"The Dark Lord had broken into my home. My father was dueling him. He ordered me and mum to run we did, but dad fell quickly. Mum barricaded us in the study – she likes to experiment with spells – she hit me with something just as the door broke open."

He spoke stoically, his face emotionless, but Alexandra could see the fear and grief in his gaze, and, moving slowly, her hands still where he could see him, she moved forward and took the now trembling teen in her arms.

"You're terrified aren't you?" she whispered softly, running a gentle hand through his hair as he collapsed against her, his body shaking with suppressed sobs. He was slightly taller than she was, so – with difficulty – she lowered them to the floor so that she could hold him more easily.

"Shh, darling, shh. You're safe now. I promise. No one will hurt you here." she murmured soothingly. Eventually he quieted, but he didn't seem inclined to move from her embrace, which, for reasons unknown to her, made her ridiculously happy. She continued to card her fingers through the surprisingly silky hair. Eventually they heard Tom sigh and both looked up to see the normally composed Slytherin with his hair standing on end and a worried look on his face.

"What do we do? Introduce him to the professors? Say we found him outside? Ask for sanctuary for him?"

She sniffed daintily.

"We shouldn't have to ask. They are bound by their oaths as professors of this school and caretakers of children to offer sanctuary to any child in danger, and Hadrian meets those requirements. They'll have no choice but to Sort him and integrate him into the school." she reminded her friend haughtily. Hadrian giggled slightly, snuggling into her briefly before sitting up with a resigned sigh.

"I need a change of clothes. I can't very well walk around in muggle clothes."

She shrugged.

"You can borrow a pair of Tom's robes until we can get away to buy you some. Now come on. Better to get this done and over with than to sit here worrying. Tom, you come up with our story. Hadrian, we need to clean the muck off your robes from sitting on the floor."

Nodding in agreement, Hadrian scrambled to his feet, allowing Alexandra to clean him up a bit as they followed Tom out.

* * *

Sirius stared at his godmother incredulously.

"You trusted him? There were obvious holes in his story!"

She waved him off.

"He was terrified, Sirius, but, if it makes you feel better, I didn't believe him, even if I did trust him. I knew he was lying to me, but, scared as he was, I couldn't bring myself to pressure him for the truth. Now, back to what I was saying...

* * *

The school as whole (including the Slytherins, much to Alexandra's amusement) jumped in surprise when the doors to the Great Hall burst open to reveal Tom Riddle, emotionless Prince of Slytherin, and his right hand, Alexandra Marks leading an unknown teen into the room.

"Headmaster," Alexandra called to the Head Table, "Tom and I found this young man wondering about outside. He says that his parents were killed by the Dark Lord, but his mother – who was apparently gifted in spell crafting – created a spell that sent him here, more than likely hoping that you would grant her son sanctuary. He has already sworn on his magic that he speaks the truth. He told us he was home schooled and we wondered if perhaps you would allow him to be Sorted and attend classes here."

Headmaster Dippet looked the strange boy over kindly.

"What is your name, child?"

"Hadrian Verlack." he answered quietly, "Both my parents were muggleborn."

The Headmaster nodded.

"Of course. Albus, if you would, please go fetch the Sorting Hat from my office."

Dumbledore smiled at them, his eyes twinkling.

"Of course, Headmaster."

They all watched as the colorful sweep from the room. Minutes later, he returned with the hat. He smiled at Hadrian.

"Mr. Verlack, if you'll please step up to the podium, we'll Sort you into your House."

Silently, the green-eyed teen glided to the front of the room, his quiet grace gaining him quite a few admirers. Dumbledore placed the hat on his head and they all waited. A second later, the worn thing shouted,

"SLYTHERIN!"

Tom's robes returned to green as Hadrian took off the hat and moved to stand with the two Slytherins again. Alexandra whooped, a manic grin on her face. She took his hand and dragged him over to the Slytherin table, Tom following much more sedately. The food had arrived before they had, so Alexandra immediately set about filling the small teen's plate. Neither of them noticed their Housemates glaring at the rest of the school until they stopped staring at their newest member. At least, the rest of the school assumed they didn't notice. As soon as the noise level was at a decent buzz, she asked Hadrian, without looking up from filling his plate,

"So, little one, where are you really from?"

Hadrian's eyes widened to the size of saucers and his body tensed. Then he sighed and slumped in his seat.

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you."

She raised a brow.

"It can't be that bad, pet."

He chuckled mirthlessly.

"I assure you, it is. But since you insist – I'm from the future. I don't know how I got here other than Dumbledore shot some purple spell at me and when I woke up I was down there with you and Tom. My parents really were killed by the Dark Lord – of my time. Shortly after Grindlewald falls, another Dark Lord rises. I can't – and won't – tell you any more than that."

Those around them were staring in disbelief – until Tom spoke.

"And you expect us to believe that?"

Another dark chuckle.

"Would you like another oath, Riddle?" he asked sardonically. Alexandra's head was tilted to the side and she studied him through narrow eyes. Then she smiled and placed his plate in front of him.

"We'll worry about the past – and the future – after you've eaten. You're far too light for a healthy fifteen-year-old boy."

He shot her glare, which only caused her to smirk and gestured towards the plate.

"You're as bad as Mrs. Weasley." he grumbled. Abraxus glared at him – until Alexandra glared at him.

"Mrs. Weasley?"

Hadrian nodded.

"Arthur Weasley's wife."

Tom raised a brow. Alexandra and Walburga nodded in understanding.

"Bilius' younger brother." they answered together. The boys 'ahh'ed and dropped the subject. Hadrian ate the rest of the meal in silence.

* * *

Hadrian was startled when he was grabbed by the arm and ushered into an empty classroom. He spun to face his assailant, only to relax when he saw it was Alexandra. She perched herself on the edge of a desk, her expression somber.

"Hadrian, you know Tom, don't you? Is he your Dark Lord? Is he like Grindlewald?"

"Worse." he answered hoarsely. "He killed my parents. I was a year old – there was a prophecy."

"Who were they?"

"Lily and James Potter."

* * *

"WHAT?" Sirius interrupted. 'Lexi glared at him.

"How do you think I knew he'd come back?" she demanded. "Harry will be back – as Hadrian. He changed during our time. He no longer trusts Dumbledore as he did. Now, please, allow me to finish the story and you'll find out exactly what happened to your godson!" she snapped. He smiled sheepishly and she continued.

* * *

"So you're Charlus' grandson?" she asked eagerly. He shrugged.

"I don't really know. After my parents were killed, I was sent to live with my mother's muggle sister and her husband. They hated magic, so they hated me."

Her brow furrowed in concern.

"Hadrian? What did they do to you? Did they hurt you?"

He shook his head.

"I don't want to talk about it." he choked out. Violet eyes flashing with rage, she nodded, once again taking the boy into her arms. It surprised her that he would trust her enough to allow her to comfort him. When she asked him why – after he'd calmed – he smiled and chuckled self-mockingly.

"You may be a Slytherin, but you're honest in your wish to comfort me. Don't ask me how I know, don't ask me why – but I trust you, 'Lexi."

Her eyes widened at the nickname, but she didn't protest it – merely beamed at his declaration. Then her eyes hardened with determination. She would prove that she was deserving of that trust. She would protect him. Especially from Tom. As she and Harry made their way to their dorms, the two exchanged secret smiles, even as her thoughts turned to her best friend. Yes, she would protect Hadrian from Tom... after she beat the hell out of him for becoming a Dark Lord in the first place.


End file.
